The Hour of Chaos: Rebirth
by S.S. Armageddon
Summary: He was the greatest hero the world had ever known... then Sonic the Hedgehog made the ultimate sacrifice. Sequel/spin-off of previous stories, "The Hour of Chaos."


_The Hour of Chaos: Rebirth_

Chapter 1: Fracture

Action.

If there was one thing Charmy Bee craved, it was action. Normally it would have been something sugary – a candy bar, perhaps – but seven years living in the Space Colony ARK gave him a certain desire for excitement. Although it wasn't as if he hadn't seen enough of it to last him a lifetime. From saving the world from Dr. Robotnik, to the catastrophe that had come to be known as the Chaos War, Charmy had certainly experienced his share of adventure.

Even so, there were only so many dials and buttons to fool around with on the ARK. He needed something to keep him preoccupied. He needed – what was that word Espio liked to use?

Recreation.

Which Charmy assumed meant something like running or weight-lifting. There was only one problem with that, and it was that Charmy much preferred playing video games. Or reading comic books. In the past few years, a publishing company had begun printing comic strips like "Sonic the Hedgehog," "Knuckles the Echidna," or Charmy's personal favorite: "Chaotix." Every now and then, when Vector took a trip down to the surface for supplies, Charmy would request that he pick up an issue or two. The crocodile would grunt and complain that Charmy was "way too old to be reading that garbage" and yadda-yadda-yadda.

Charmy usually tuned him out.

Sighing, Charmy pressed his nose against the glass of the observatory windows, staring down at the blue planet below him. It had been a long time since he'd last been to the surface. But then, it was an even longer time since the Chaotix had been needed on the surface.

For close to four years now, the team of former detectives had been using the ARK as their home-base, a place where they could watch over the planet Earth as its trio of mightiest heroes, swiftly swooping down to put a stop to villainy, wherever it might appear.

At least, that was Vector's original idea.

The reality of the situation was closer to figuring out how to get the ARK up and running again after its long years of dormancy. After that, there wasn't much to do but sit in the observation room monitoring machines that might detect the Chaos Energies that once threatened the world.

Which was exactly what Charmy was doing at that moment.

Well, that and perusing issue eleven of the "Chaotix" comic series, which pitted the tenacious trio against "the danger of Dr. Disarray!"

Quite frankly, it was boring. Watching the energy scanners, not the comic book. Charmy always liked seeing his likeness printed in the panels of a magazine, beating the ever-loving snot out of a supervillain. Even if Sonic always got the better villains in his series.

Charmy was buried in his thoughts when something happened – something that hadn't happened for seventeen years, and certainly something he hadn't expected.

The ARK alarm system went off.

The energy scanners had detected something.

What that something was, Charmy could only imagine.

* * *

As the _Tornado _flew the final pattern around Angel Island's runway, Miles "Tails" Prower caught sight of a familiar figure waiting below. It raised a hand in greetings, an action that Tails stiffly mirrored.

Leaning into the airplane's control yoke, Tails began to make his final descent toward the island - and his stomach twisted into a familiar knot of cold dread. It was the same feeling that overcame him every time he returned to Angel Island.

Tails took a deep breath, angling the nose of his tiny plane toward the tarmac and trying his best to keep his hands from shaking. This was always the worst part, he lied to himself. Landing was always the hardest.

But he did it, the landing gear of the _Tornado _shrieking briefly - _skrt!_ - before the aircraft finally touched down.

Tails eased the throttle back and slumped into the pilot's seat, allowing his plane to coast to a halt.

But instead of leaping out with a smile on his face, the fox simply sat there in brooding silence. He was no longer the happy-go-lucky sidekick to the world's greatest champion. No, those days had long passed. At thirty-one years old, Miles Prower bore no resemblance to the boy he once was - save, perhaps, for his trademark twin tails. His once-bright eyes were now gray and tired. His fur was matted. His shoulders slouched, bearing the weight of a thousand tragedies.

There was no other way to put it; Tails was no longer Tails. Whatever life he now lived, he lived it desperately clinging to his past. What was there to live for anymore? Dr. Robotnik was no more. The world no longer needed him, and Sonic...

Sonic the Hedgehog, for all intents and purposes, was dead.

Tails saw a flash of movement outside and decided he had wasted enough time. With the _Tornado_ sitting idle on the tarmac, Tails popped the cockpit and moved to hop out onto the runway.

Then he stopped and reached underneath the pilot's seat, groping for a small bundle wrapped in tinfoil. It was something he always brought to Angel Island nowadays - not of his own accord, but a necessity nonetheless.

He had promised to bring it.

Grasping the bundle under one arm, Tails hopped nimbly out of the cockpit, landing with a _thud_ beside the familiar figure:

Knuckles the Echidna. One of his oldest friends.

The two greeted each other with an embrace, neither daring to say a word yet. When they parted, Tails found a sentimental smile on Knuckles' face.

"It's good to see you again," he said.

Tails nodded, doing his best to conjure a look of fond remembrance. He immediately hoped he hadn't, figuring he'd instead conjured a look of constipation.

He never was very good at these reunions.

There was an awkward air of silence for a short while, before Knuckles slapped his thighs and took a deep breath.

"Well," he said, "shall we?"

* * *

They plodded along through the forest in silence, Tails still gripping the tinfoil bundle close to his chest. He figured that they should be talking to one another, catching up on things - after all, Tails and Knuckles rarely saw one another anymore. If it weren't for Tails' annual trips to Angel Island, in fact, they would have fallen out of touch completely.

But Knuckles had always been a loner. Maybe, Tails figured, he preferred to live in solitude.

"How's Amy?" asked Knuckles suddenly, startling Tails.

"Oh," he stammered, "she's, uh, she's fine." Then after a beat, "She sends her regards."

Knuckles nodded.

Then more silence, broken only by the occasional birdcall.

Tails cleared his throat. "How've you been keeping?" he asked.

"Active," the echidna replied. Then, as if to show that he was trying to be lighthearted, he smiled.

Tails nodded. "Right. That's always good."

Just when Tails thought their conversation couldn't get any more forced, a miracle happened: they emerged from the forest, finding themselves at the base of the Master Emerald's stone shrine.

For a long moment it seemed as if they would just stand there, staring in awe at the massive gem, until Knuckles finally broke the silence:

"Here he is."

Tails' throat suddenly felt as dry as the Shamar deserts. It always happened when he came back here.

"Yeah," he croaked. Then, forcing his legs to move, he took a tentative step forward. Knuckles followed as Tails climbed the stairs leading to the emerald's terraced altar. They stopped just a few feet from the gem's glittering surface, standing above a polished brass plaque.

Engraved in its surface were the words:

_Sonic the Hedgehog - Run fast. Never look back._

Never look back. Now that was something Tails could never quite do.

It had been seventeen years since the end of the Chaos War. Seventeen years since the stars blackened and the Earth was torn asunder.

Seventeen years since Sonic the Hedgehog gave his life to save his friends.

Never look back.

That was why Tails was here, wasn't it? Because try as he might, he could never be like Sonic. He could never be the man of tomorrow, always pushing forward.

Tails just couldn't let go of the past.

Knuckles cleared his throat.

"Do you, uh... you want to say anything?" he asked.

But Tails couldn't bring himself to reply. He stepped forward slowly, reaching out with one hand and touching the Master Emerald with his fingertips. If he looked hard enough, he swore he could see a faint silhouette beyond the emerald's faceted surface. Maybe it was only his imagination, but the sight gave him some comfort. It made him remember that Sonic was not really dead.

Trapped inside the Master Emerald, but not dead.

Unable to move or perhaps even think as an alien parasite tore apart his soul. But not dead.

And then the comfort was gone.

Drawing a deep breath, Tails stepped back and began to unwrap the tinfoil from the bundle in his arms. He peeled back the layers of silver to find a deep shade of red underneath.

Roses, from Amy. Tails supposed they were symbolic in some way. He never could understand the way Amy thought...

Once again, Knuckles cleared his throat and spoke.

"So that's that."

"I guess so," Tails nodded. He wiped at his nose, trying not to think of what it was like inside the Master Emerald.

He wondered fleetingly if Sonic could feel pain.

Then he felt Knuckles' hand on his shoulder.

"Hey," frowned the echidna, "you okay?"

"Yeah," Tails said quickly.

Knuckles studied his face a while before asking, "You sure?"

"Well, I..."

Tails trailed off. He once more looked at the emerald and had to sigh.

"I just wonder what it's like, sometimes. In there."

Knuckles followed Tails' gaze to the Master Emerald, shining against the blue sky like a second sun.

"I like to think it's peaceful," he offered.

Tails swallowed, trying to moisten his dry throat.

"I'd like to think that too."

Both the echidna and fox did not speak again for a long time, allowing their thoughts to take over.

In fact, so absorbed were they in these thoughts, they failed to notice the hairline crack in Master Emerald's surface.

* * *

Tails' visit didn't last long. He never stayed for more than an hour, although Knuckles could hardly blame him. The kid had been closer to Sonic than anyone else - Hell, they were practically brothers.

But that was a long time ago, and now little Tails wasn't so little anymore. In fact, as he'd parted ways with Knuckles, the echidna couldn't help but notice that the two-tailed fox was even taller than _he_ was.

Times change.

_Whud-whud. Whud-whud._

Knuckles himself had changed, though not as he'd expected. He'd always pictured himself aging into a weather-worn warrior, as stalwart as the mountains of Angel Island.

_Whud-whud. Whud-whud._

He never imagined that he would become a gray-haired old hermit instead.

_Whud-whud. Whud-whud._

Times change, maybe, but one thing hadn't: Knuckles' proclivity for solitude. In the past seventeen years, he'd hardly left his lonely abode. The only news he ever heard from his old friends was brought by Tails.

But to be honest, Knuckles quite liked it that way.

_Whud-whud. Whud-whud._

It was just him and the emerald. Him and the mountains, the lakes, the forests.

The treetops shuddered, waking birds from their late-night sleep. The ground trembled with each successive noise -

_Whud-whud. Whud-whud._

- As Knuckles' fists smashed repeatedly into the trunk of a tree, his namesake gouging deep into the wood.

This was Knuckles' playtime. His therapy. His... what was the word?

Recreation.

One-two. One-two.

_Whud-whud. Whud-whud._

Just like he'd been taught so long ago.

He'd told Tails that he stayed active. This was how.

Years of use had dulled the bony spikes protruding from his fists. Age had worn his body and weakened his limbs. Fifteen years ago he could fell a tree with a single blow. Now, at the ripening age of forty-five?

Not so much.

A final blow splintered the base of the trunk, leaving the tree to teeter precariously. Panting from exertion, Knuckles considered toppling the tree with one last punch. Then he gently nudged it with his foot, sending it slowly crashing to the forest floor.

Knuckles stood for a moment, breathing heavily and observing the wreckage he had caused. Then, gathering his thoughts, he moved on to another tree.

_Whud-whud. Whud-whud._

One-two. One-two.

If Knuckles was to be honest with himself, this was maybe the only thing to distract him from the horrible loneliness that sometimes overcame him. Of course he liked being alone, but there were moments when things suddenly seemed to come crashing down on him. Bouts of depression would come and go, and the only thing keeping Knuckles from wallowing in his own sorrows was the Master Emerald - and, of course, punching things.

Now was one of those times. Knuckles always felt that way when Tails came. Not while he was there, but afterwards, when Knuckles was alone with his thoughts, he would wonder: _why hadn't Amy come? Did she not want to see me? Why hasn't anyone else come? Do they not want to see me either?_

No, no, that wasn't it, Knuckles told himself as his fists shattered the bark of the second tree.

That wasn't the reason at all. It was Sonic.

That was always the big elephant in the room. Everyone knew that Sonic was on Angel Island, and everyone was afraid of it.

Sonic. Once Knuckles considered him his rival. Then, his most trusted friend.

They had a long and complicated relationship.

Knuckles suddenly felt himself overcome with a strange tingling sensation, and he once again hurled himself at the tree.

_Whud-whud. Whud-whud._

_Whud-whud. Whud-whud._

But the more force he threw into his punches, the stronger the sensation became, and soon Knuckles realized...

He had felt this sensation before. Long ago, in a memory that now felt like a dream.

He remembered feeling the Master Emerald. The Chaos Emeralds.

But that was impossible. The Master Emerald had absorbed the Chaos Energies into itself seventeen years ago. It had been dormant for over a decade. It couldn't become active again unless Knuckles willed it to.

Or unless...

The thought struck Knuckles with the force of a lightning bolt.

_No_, he thought, spinning suddenly away from the tree, his eyes widening. _No, no, no, no..._

And with that he took off running, blood pumping through his veins like liquid fire. His muscles burned as they were forced into overdrive, but Knuckles did not slow down. He tore through the underbrush, leaping over trees that he had fallen in years past.

He felt something he hadn't felt in many, many years: fear.

Suddenly he wished he could trade his strength for speed.

As Knuckles crashed through the trees, he began to notice something: a light shining through the gloom of the forest. A light shining from the shrine of the Master Emerald.

Knuckles finally burst through the tree-line, skidding to a halt at the base of the emerald shrine. To his utter horror, he saw a sight he had not seen in years.

The Master Emerald was cracking, a network of fractures racing along its surface and rays of white light spilling out from within.

A _snap_, and the emerald split evenly down the middle, blinding Knuckles for an instant.

By now the faint tingling Knuckles had felt was practically overwhelming. There was energy in the air, sparking and cracking like the firing of synapses. The sheer force of the sensation almost had Knuckles reeling.

_No_, he told himself, raising one massive hand to shield his eyes from the light. _This can't happen. Not again._

And so he took a step forward, trembling as if he were fighting against the winds of a hurricane. Another wave of energy washed over him, and he felt as though he would be sick to his stomach. It had been so long since he'd felt it...

One step.

He was at the bottom of the shrine.

Two steps.

He was on his way up.

Three steps.

Making progress...

Four steps.

Felt like vomiting...

Five steps.

Almost at the top...

Knuckles couldn't see. Couldn't hear. Couldn't feel. The emerald had ignited every nerve in his body, launching his system into overdrive.

He reached out and clasped his hands on either side of the enormous emerald, gritting his teeth and desperately willing it to hold together.

It wasn't enough.

The Master Emerald disintegrated in a brilliant flash of light, sending Knuckles tumbling down the stairs of the shrine. He landed with a jarring _thud_ at the bottom, ribs bruised and body aching.

But the sound of a voice forced him to look upwards.

"_Mine_."

The light faded, retracting into a compact, golden orb held in the hand of an all-too familiar figure. In its other hand sat a flickering, red flame.

Knuckles' breath caught in his throat.

He couldn't believe it.

"Sonic?" he whispered.

Slowly, the familiar figure tipped his head downwards and smiled.

The body belonged to Sonic.

The devilish grin did not.

The flames and golden light spread from his hands to his body, as the familiar figure hissed:

"Sonic isn't here right now."


End file.
